History of Simlandia
No historical records survived the Great Disaster of Simlandia. Thus the people began anew in the year 1. In the year 1, Atlas Atlantean moved his family, wife Persephone & daughters Alice, Bethany and Clara, to a plot of farmland near a stream, to a place which would be later known as Oasis Springs. There, the family built a humble abode comprised of found scrap wood & stone. They hunted & fished, then farmed for sustenance. Isolated for years, Atlas assumed an untrusting attitude & forged his independence out of necessity. Grateful to have survived the disaster, he still felt a deep longing for male company & prayed for a son to teach, to bond with, to carry on his patriarchy. The Goddess blessed him with Brayden in the year 5. Atlas and his family were not the only survivors. Llamas roamed in herds throughout the lands, while scarcely any other animal could be found. This mysterious conundrum of the survivor llamas has baffled scientist for generations. The animals became a great symbol of divine grace & formed the basis of the New Spirituality. So ingrained were they in popular culture, that sports teams were proudly named after them! On more than one occasion, one suburb’s Llamas went head to head with another suburb’s Llamas. No one seemed to mind – the people were united under a spiritual principle. However, the settlers did not always agree with one another on spiritual matters. The figure of Heidi Lovett stirred up controversy within the first years of the movement. A well-known harlot who frequented all the new speak-easies almost nightly, Heidi had a peculiar way of delivering prophetic messages from the Goddess. Seducing her prey, she would take him to the red bedroom. After the festivities, she would not utter a single word, except to whisper in his ear a prophecy, whether dire or hopeful. She would never speak to the same man again. The prophecies invariably came true. Some folks considered Heidi a messenger – to heed and respect – and others, a fraud, even a malevolent spirit – to shun and fear. As for the woman herself, Heidi never offered any explanation of her omniscience, and hardly acknowledged it. She was in it for the pleasure and the cash. However, not all people were so concerned with spiritual matters. After all, they had work to do, families to raise, a new society to build. After the Disaster, surviving settlers slowly trickled into the area. Most folks appropriated any existing structures by placing family emblems in the front lawn. Many a manor was seized, and its’ possessors left unchallenged. No one had the time or energy to fight each other – they had to keep on surviving! Other folks built smaller homes with simpler construction. It was a close community in those days. Original survivors knew the value of hard work, and modeled their new society from the ideals they were taught as children. Along with this, there was a general consensus that it was up to them to re-populate a new society. Although each family strived to fulfill this role, socioeconomic factors limited their success. The economy was still floundering under the two different systems of bartering and currency. Children were a costly investment, but one that would pay off in the long run. Between these pressures, the average number of children per household held between 3-6. It wasn’t until 4th and 5th generation survivors mated that the birth rate decreased to 1-3 per couple. Of note is the prevailing views on homosexuality. Pre-Disaster society took little issue with same-sex marriage. However, in light of a need to propagate offspring, same-sex couples became somewhat second-class citizens, as they were unable to fulfill their societal duty.